Opinion: Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies revolution off to a winning start but tougher tests loom
Rob Valetini and Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt.
There was a lot of pressure on the Wallabies heading into the July internationals, but a return to winning ways has shifted the narrative.
Following a tough period under the stewardship of Eddie Jones at the World Cup, in which Australia were knocked out of the pool stage for the first time in their history, Joe Schmidt stripped everything down to the bones and started anew.
The Schmidt revolution not only changed the playing group to exclusively Australian-based players, with the likes of Will Skelton, Marika Koroibete (who might actually be returning…), Quade Cooper and Richie Arnold all left at home in favour of Super Rugby stars Noah Lolesio, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Jeremy Williams and Andrew Kellaway, but it also changed the style of play to a quicker, more clinical style than we saw during Jones’ second tenure.
Australia are certainly back on track now though, but tougher tests lie ahead in the Rugby Championship with the Springboks firmly on the horizon now; and this will be the key tester of where they stand under Schmidt.
Key players
As alluded to above, Schmidt has picked players currently based in Australia, but within that has axed NRL-bound duo Carter Gordon and Mark Nawaqanitawase.
These omissions might have raised eyebrows at the time, but those selected in their place certainly delivered. Filipo Daugunu marked his return to the Wallabies side by grabbing three tries in the three Tests and Lolesio grabbed a nice haul of 21 points from the tee.
It wasn’t just those who missed out on the World Cup who shone though, with the back-row in particular really thriving in Schmidt’s system.
Rob Valetini was immense in all three of his outings in July, and showed he is the man to build this new-look Australia around. He made plenty of work for himself in attack, and quickly became his side’s principal ball carrier. The Brumbies man also got stuck into the defensive efforts to good effect.
Likewise with his colleague Fraser McReight, who stepped out of the rather large shadow of legend Michael Hooper this July. In a similar vein to the Australian rugby icon, McReight was incredibly busy in and around the breakdown, and put himself about with some major tackles too. He also got busy on the attacking side too.
Charlie Cale also impressed in his showings, particularly in the second test against Wales, and he complimented McReight and Valetini well.
The back-row proved to be a real strong point for the Wallabies this July, and if they want to succeed in the Rugby Championship they will need to once again lead from the front.
Focus should be on Argentina
The Rugby Championship is an incredibly strong competition, but this year it whets the appetite even more than usual. South Africa come into the tournament as reigning World Champions, after beating rivals New Zealand in the final, but the All Blacks will be out for both revenge for their defeat in Paris and also keen to defend their own Rugby Championship title, which they have won every year since 2020.
These two heavyweights gunning for glory will make it a tough ask for Australia to claim their first title since 2015, but the four matches against them should be a grand litmus test for them and will provide a good lesson moving forward under the new regime.
Whilst it might seem harsh to outline Australia’s inability to win the tournament, it should be expressed as their need to put all of their focus on beating Argentina when they face each other in weeks three and four.
With the narrative surrounding both the Wallabies and rugby union on the whole in Australia, it is essential they avoid finishing bottom for a second successive year, and two decent wins over Argentina should do this.
Los Pumas have had a mixed summer following the sudden departure of Michael Cheika to Leicester Tigers. They thrashed Uruguay 79-5 this past weekend, but faced a weakened France squad and only came away with one victory.
Australia will feel Argentina are there for the taking, and this could be a springboard for them moving forward.
Springboks squad winners and losers as Rassie Erasmus shocks with back-row calls and fresh snubs
Progress, for sure
The above section seems rather negative, so let’s add a positive note to this shall we?
There has been progress, for sure, since Schmidt took the reigns. As alluded to earlier, the detonation of Jones’ tenure has actually worked a treat on the style of play.
During the Tests against Wales and Georgia, the Wallabies adopted a fairly simple, but yet structured game plan to unpick their opposition, and blended that with some brilliant individual touches.
Australia’s pack were very effective in the tight, but in a similar way to Schmidt’s Ireland side actually, looked to play it out the back too. This worked well to bring the likes of Hunter Paisami into the game.
Set-piece was also very solid, particularly the scrum. They were able to tear Wales apart in both Test One and Test Two and put a decent showing on against Georgia too.
Whilst it wasn’t the most imaginative style, it was exactly what was needed. They worked on the nuts and bolts of their gameplan, and will only be able to build from here.
The bottom line is there is clearly a change going on from where they were at the World Cup, but this Rugby Championship won’t be easy for them.
